A Night Without Power

We take it for granted that the power will always work, the TV will be there when we want it, and the internet will always be connected. But where humans are in charge, there is bound to be human error. That is what happened on the afternoon of September 8 when a worker in Yuma was working on the electricity and before we knew it, all electricity was out for hundreds of miles, and affecting millions of people.

Ron and I were at the doctor's office in Encinitas that afternoon when everything went out. When I think back on it I thought it was just a power surge at the time, as the lights went out and then a few lights came back on. They must have a back up generator that quickly kicked in. We left and came home, noticing that street lights were blinking everywhere. It wasn't until we got home at 4pm and couldn't open the garage door it dawned on us that the power was out.

We were what I call semi prepared. We had 2 flashlights with fresh batteries, a transistor radio that sort of worked, but by the end of the evening was working no more. We also had candles if needed. We had a cell phone and a land phone that both worked, which made us feel connected. Unfortunately the power went out on the night of the first NFL football game which made many fans, Ron included, pretty unhappy. Luckily he had the transistor, which made it through the whole game.

It was still light out when we got home and realized the power was probably going to be out all night, so Ron went up to Rite Aid to get more batteries. The entire center was closed. Next he tried Costco, which was open, but on a limited basis and had no portable radio. He gave up and came home.

Our evening was simple and enjoyable. We had already planned to barbeque that night, so no oven was needed. I had made a cold wheatberry salad earlier in the day, and the naan bread I planned to take from the freezer would be thawed, then placed on the barbeque. Except for the fact that the fish we barbequed wasn't very good, everything else worked out well, and we enjoyed our little outdoor picnic. Then I showered early and got ready to listen to the ball game. There wasn't much else to do. Around 8:30 we got in bed, listened to the game, and talked. It was a little like camping out. At 10pm we went to bed, knowing that electricity had already been returned to Laguna and Tijuana, so I knew it was just a matter of time before we were up and running. Sure enough, around 10:20pm, electricity came back on. We reset all the clocks, TV's and made sure the internet was connected, then went back to bed.

I got to the Y Friday morning for an 8am class only to find that the teacher's power had not resumed until 4am, and her alarm clock never went off. Luckily they got a sub for her. Many people did not get power for as long as 12 hours, so we were lucky. No spoiled food in the freezer and refrigerator.

Nights like September 8 are a reminder to all of us that we should be prepared for emergencies, be they electrical, earthquakes, or storms. We should always have a light source handy and a portable radio. I'm guilty of NOT doing this, but I sent Ron to the store this morning to get all the necessary equipment. Hopefully we won't have another incident like this for a very long time. I think about all the millions of dollars that were lost in restaurants, retail shops, supermarkets and more. A simple human error can sure case a lot of harm.